I 12 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, May 7, 2001 The - iachga akeover n Widespwead c anges s rroun the Wolverines Crisler facelift Searight dismissed from tean . Current Seating KEY: . Student seats * ~bi:v I * Press seats ® Public seats 4\ 44 42128 4\ ,: / ^ ! f i we 47,/ it5S By Steve Jackson Daily Sports Editor Maurice Searight's days as a Wolver- ine are over. Wednesday, Michigan basketball coach Tommy Amaker announced that the freshman guard had been dismissed from the program. The action was taken in response to a "violation of team policies." Amaker was both kind and brief when discussing Searight. "We certainly appreciate Maurice's efforts here at the University," Amaker said in a released statement. "We would like to wish him well and assist him with any help and direction he needs to fur- ther his collegiate basketball career. There will be no further cpmment on this matter." Searight's career ended after playing in just 19 games. During that time he averaged 2.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 13.2 minutes per game. Before coming to Michigan, Searight was an outstanding football and basket- ball player. He led Orchard Lake St. Mary's basketball to the Michigan state title in 2000 with an undefeated season. Averaging 16 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists as a senior, Searight was rated by Preps Spotlight as the No. 3 prospect in Michigan upon his departure. When he arrived in Ann Arbor, Searight started strong. In his first game against Oakland, the 6-foot-2 freshman hit all seven of his shots to finish with a career-high 14 points. But the good days quickly turned sour for Searight. His playing time dropped substantially and his behavior began to cause his team additional headaches. On December 30 Searight was sus- pended for the game against Eastern Michigan for violating unspecified team rules. It appeared as though the prob- lems might have endedwhen Searight posted six points in 22 minutes against Ohio State on January 18. But on February 10, Searight skipped a team practice and never played for Michigan again. "He's suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. He's suspended until I change my mind, and right now I have not changed it," then-Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe said in his Monday press conference that week. "We're defi- nitely trying to teach him life less just like any other kid." If Searight wants to learn his lesson at another Division I school, he will ha to sit out for a year before returning the court. Crisler changes brng students closer to floor By Benjamin Singer Daily Sports Editor ,risler Arena will undergo renovations - before the,2001-02 basketball.season in an effort to rearrange seating to fit more students closer to the floor. Instead of regular sseats in the sections directly behind the team benches and scorer's table, bleacher seats will be installed. "It's a great start for us," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "It sounds like something that's been needed to cre- ate a better atmosphere. Currently, seating assignments are pri- oritized by consecutive years an individ- ual has bought season tickets. A proposed change with the bleachers would be to go on a first-come-first- served basis. Preliminary estimates project that 490 students will be able to sit in the sections closest to the court where previously just 110 students were given tickets. The "Maize Rage" will also now extend from behind the Michigan bench to behind the visitor's bench on the lowest level, as opposed to past years where students were located in just section 3 behind the scorer's table. Seats would still be set aside behind the Michigan bench for recruits and behind the opponent's beeds for visitors' tickets. Public seating will be displaced from behind the benches to the upper part of section 3 in the lower bowl, which used to be part of the student section. Director of Ticket Operations Marty Bodnar said this move would benefit those sitting in section 6 who have com- plained of parts of their view being blocked by students standing during the games. Now with public seating to their right, the view should be clearer. Another possibility for next season would include courtside seating for the public. Possibly 100 seats would be avail- able, requiring donations for each seat in addition to the cost of the ticket itself. Ticket prices for students and public seating have yet to be determined. Maurice Searight was kicked off the team for unspecified team violations. Tommy Amaker has finally completed his search to find his assistants. Michigan has yet to officially announce their hirings. Here is a breakdown of the new faces on the bench: The latest addition to the Wolver- ines is Chales Ramsey, who was an assistant at California for five years. Ramsey has ties to the Ann Arbor areaas he was an assistant at East- ern Michigan and has also coached Ypsilanti High School. Ramsey Chuck Swenson has worked the past five years as an assistant coach at Penn State. He previously was a Duke assistant under Mike Krzyzewski and helped recruit Amaker to the Blue Devils. Swenson was also head coach at William and Mary, where he compiled a 62-134 record in seven seasons. Billy Schmidt and Kirsten Green followed Amaker from Seton Hall after his hiring. Schmidt will join Ram- sey and Swenson on the bench while Green will work as the director of basketball operations. Schmidt previ- ously worked at Northwestern before replacing Chris Collins at Seton Hall last year. i-again Because the order for next year's uniform with Nike was made too late for a complete change, the Wolverines will have the same jersey as the past two years, but with "Michigan" written across the chest as opposed to the block 'M'. The uniforms for the 2002-03 season will be a Photo illustration of whole new design that will still read "Michigan" Bornard Robinson into eje proected uniform. on the jersey. Michigan is still working out its schedule, but three non-conference teams are officially set: Duke is comeing to Michigan next year in the first year of a renewed contract through 2006. Amaker said the schools will review the deal as to whether they want to continue after two years. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is known to dislike coaching against former players. Michigan will host Boston College to finish up the home-and-home series from two years ago when the Eagles won 89-71. The Eagles were knocked out in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed. Like with Boston College, Michigan will travel to Col- orado State to finish the home-and-home from the 1999- 2000 season when Michigan won 87-80.